Minkah Fitzpatrick #29 of the Alabama Crimson Tide holds the trophy while celebrating with his team after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in overtime to win the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Alabama won 26-23. (Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images)

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped a second-half comeback with a 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith in Monday night's 26-23 win over Georgia to give the Tide a fifth national championship in nine years.

The youth movement started well before that play. It featured runs by Najee Harris and a touchdown reception by Henry Ruggs III with help from a big catch by Jerry Jeudy.

"When the game that mattered most came around and we got opportunities, we made the most out of it," Harris said.

The outgoing stars passed the torch to the next wave a little earlier than expected.

Tagovailoa replaced starter Jalen Hurts to start the second half with Alabama down 13-0. He passed for 166 yards and three touchdowns and flashed some running ability, too.

Harris ran for 64 yards on six carries and delivered some big fourth-quarter runs. He had a 16-yarder and a 35-yarder to set up a field goal and help keep Alabama alive.

Ruggs caught a 6-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Jeudy had a 20-yard catch on Alabama's tying touchdown drive late in the fourth.

Then came Smith and Tagovailoa and a final freshman connection on second and 26 after a sack.

"I looked at Tua and said, 'Trust me,' and he nodded his head," Smith said. "When I saw they were in Cover 2, I knew we had a chance."

The freshmen were matter of fact about their accomplishments. Making plays and winning titles is why the prized recruits came to Alabama, after all.

"When they just called anybody's number, we were ready," Smith said. "That's that everybody comes here to do. When your number is called, you're here just to make plays."

The players who played pivotal roles in getting Alabama to the title game -- like Hurts and tailback Damien Harris -- didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight with the young 'uns.

Tagovailoa, Najee Harris and Jeudy were all five-star recruits joining the fold of a team that reloads annually.

"We expect stuff like that," Damien Harris said. "No matter who you are, no matter how long you're here, no matter what your experience is, whenever you get here you're expected to play to a standard. We've got a lot of young guys that were able to do that this year and in this game. We had a lot of older guys come in and contribute as well."

Benched or not, Hurts was in the middle of the celebration and all smiles in the locker room. He had led Alabama to the national title game as both a freshman and sophomore but struggled in the first half.

Coach Nick Saban benched him in what Hurts called "an executive decision."

"As a competitor, of course you understand it," Hurts said. "As a team player and as a leader, you've got to do what's best for the team. If that's what was best for the team, then I support it completely.

"In the national championship game, all the personal things, that's out the window. You want to win this game for the team."

The national championship, most importantly, but that's not all. Georgia coach Kirby Smart could become the first of Nick Saban's former assistants to beat him as a head coach. Saban is 11-0 against his former employees. Alabama is going for its fifth national title under Saban since 2009 and 11th during the major poll era, which started in 1936. No school has won more than Alabama's 10 AP national championships. The Crimson Tide is playing in the CFP title game for the third straight season, having split the previous two with Clemson. Georgia is searching for its first national championship since 1980, second overall, in its first trip to the playoff.

KEY MATCHUP

Georgia RBs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel against Alabama's top-ranked run defense, led by NT Da'Ron Payne. Seniors Chubb and Michel are the first Georgia teammates to run for more than 1,000 yards in the same season and the roommates went off in last week's Rose Bowl victory against Oklahoma, combining for 326 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Alabama allows 2.7 yards per carry and the 302-pound Payne's play is pivotal, consuming blockers and allowing linebackers such as Rashaan Evans to track down ball carriers. If Georgia's dynamic duo of Chubb and Michel is slowed that puts more pressure on freshman quarterback Jake Fromm to produce.

Alabama: QB Jalen Hurts. The sophomore has now led his team to the championship game in back-to-back years. Still, his shortcomings tend get more attention than his strengths. Hurts is not the most refined passer, but he threw 17 touchdowns and just one interception and ran for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.

Georgia: LB Roquan Smith. The Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker and the only defensive player to finish in the top-10 of Heisman voting. Even in a game that featured 104 points and more than 1,000 yards of offense, Smith was one of the best players on the field in the Rose Bowl against Oklahoma.

FACTS & FIGURES

Alabama OLB Anfernee Jennings, who was one of the Tide's best players against Clemson, is out with a knee injury. Jamey Mosley and Terrell Lewis will likely pick up playing time with Jennings out. ... Georgia OT Isaiah Wynn and Alabama OT Jonah Williams were both all-SEC selections. Wynn was a second-team All-American and Williams made the third team. ... Alabama WR Calvin Ridley is third on Alabama's career receiving list with 2,749 yards and second in catches with 220. ... Saban is 20-12 against teams ranked in the top five in his career ... Chubb and Michel have combined for 8,259 yards rushing, more than any FBS running back duo and surpassing SMU stars Craig James and Eric Dickerson, who ran for 8,192 yards. ... Alabama is No. 1 in the country in yards per play allowed (3.92). Georgia is eighth (4.65). -- AP